The Muppet Christmas Carol

I am not just a fan of A Christmas Carol, I am A Christmas Carol junkie: I will watch anything and everything Scrooge-related, even musicals, to which I am usually not too partial. However, this does not mean that I will be happy with any kind of production as long as it's based on my favorite classic. Far from it; when it comes to performance, I can be rather hard to please. I think that A Christmas Carol is one of the greatest stories ever told, and I want it to be told right.

So when I had first come across The Muppet Christmas Carol on Amazon.com, I thought, no way; they're going to mess up the story and make fun of it. Despite the fact that I loved The Muppet Show, I just didn't think Dickens and Kermit the Frog would mix, especially in a musical. Then, when I saw that the main character, Scrooge, was played by Michael Caine, I became interested. This actor could not only save the idea but actually make something good out of it. Serious or funny, I wanted to see him as Scrooge, so I went and rented the movie.

I am so glad I did. I was treated to one of the best adaptations of this story I have ever seen, colorful, touching, creative, humorous but in no way silly. Michael Caine does the only thing that could make this movie work: he plays his character straight, as if he was in a "real" film interacting with real actors, not funny muppets, and gives a fine, intense performance I wouldn't hesitate to rank second best after that of the great George Scott (my apologies to Alastair Sim fans).

An attempt to fool around would have ruined the part, and Michael Caine knows it. His Scrooge is for real, he means it when he is angry, frightened, hurt, or happy. There were a couple of things that I thought would have been better if done differently, but they were the fault of the script, not the actor.

The movie begins with Gonzo introducing himself as Charles Dickens, no less, which Rizzo the Rat immediately doubts, but nevertheless proceeds to follow "Dickens" throughout the story. The two of them serve as narrators - that is, Gonzo does; Rizzo only asks questions, looks for food, and gets in trouble.

Gonzo starts telling the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, whom we see walking to his office followed by the opening song about how mean he is, one of the best and funniest songs in the movie. ("He must be so lonely, he must be so sad, he goes to extremes to convince us he's bad…") Whoever came up with the idea of not showing Scrooge's face until he reaches the office door and then looks back, scaring everyone off with his stern expression, is a genius.

The story goes on, following the original plot as closely as you can expect from such a production. We see Scrooge's employees, the kind-hearted clerk Bob Cratchit, played by Kermit the Frog, and a bunch of mice who push Bob to ask for a day off and then instantly betray him under Scrooge's displeased look ("No, no, it's the frog's idea."). Nephew Fred comes next (Stephen Mackintosh, one of a few human actors in the movie).

He offers Christmas greetings and an invitation to dinner, both rejected. Then Scrooge goes home to his lonely meal (the incident with the door knocker is faithfully relayed), and guess what?? He is visited by not just one but two Marley ghosts! Yes, that's right. Statler and Waldorf (the old guys from the balcony) show up as the Marley brothers, Jacob and Robert - a deviation from Dickens, but it fits right in.

They sing and dance, painting a dark picture of what is expecting Scrooge ("Your future is a horror story written by your crimes"), predict the appearance of the three ghosts and leave. The Ghost of Christmas Past is an animation, a little girl floating in the air. Scrooge is taken on a journey to his past that begins his transformation. He sees himself as a boy, abandoned on Christmas day year after year, then as a young man working at Fozziwig Rubber Chicken Factory (owned by Mr. Fozziwig, Fozzie the Bear).

I admit, I fast-forward the part where Scrooge's girlfriend sings a long song after their breakup, but that's just me; like I said, I'm not into musicals, and this particular song is a bit too much for me, although I do like the rest. The Ghost of Christmas Present is a large muppet made specifically for this movie, as well as the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, so scary that Gonzo and Ritzo flee and hide until he is gone.

We get to see Bob Cratchit's family, with Miss Piggie as his wife, two younger piggies as twin sisters Belinda and Bettina, and a small little froggie as Tiny Tim. Tim's song that can also be described as the Cratchits family song is very touching. The scenes of the future are dark and depressing, as they should be, all the way to the culmination scene at the graveyard. The next morning with the new, redeemed Scrooge, eager to do good and make up for his past mistakes, is one big and joyful celebration.

Overall, this is an excellent movie, I highly recommend it for family watching. It can serve as an introduction to the works of Charles Dickens for your kids, or, if they already know the story, offer a fresh and unusual look at it.